Ferry from Gorée Island, Senegal
I’m writing this from the reception area of Les Bougainvillès, a hotel in Saly, Senegal.
I’m out here in Senegal because I’ve been helping the Africa Travel Association with their social media. There are tons of stories to tell from my time here. So far, all I’ve had time to do content-wise, other than their Twitter feed, is put a few pix up to help the one blog post I’ve posted on their blog (which I redesigned).
Ahhh, to the point…
At the ATA Congress, there was frequent mention of Africa’s perception problem. People see it as dangerous, far away, etc. That has a pretty clear impact on how people see it as a tourist destination. There’s a big problem with this not being contested. First off, it’s a continent, so to pretend like anything is the same anywhere across a huge landmass is preposterous.
The “Why haven’t you been to Africa?” campaign is intended to bridge the gap between the perception and reality of traveling in an oft-misunderstood continent.
For now, “Why haven’t you been to Africa?” has a Facebook page and Twitter feed. I’ll be working on the site when I get a chance.
In the meantime, if you want to help people in foreign lands without having to commit to much, head over to the page. If you give it a Like, that’s awesome. If you can answer the page’s question or, if you’ve been to Africa, explain how reality differed from your expectations, I’d be most appreciative.
Once again, check it out on Facebook and Twitter. And please, if you agree with the ideals behind it (or know someone who would), pass it along. And if you have ideas, wonderful. Comment here, on the page, e-mail me, tweet me, etc.
Thanks.
I’m definitely gonna go check it out! Thanks
Roni, This is a subject that is dear to my heart and I’ve been thinking about writing a post on if for quite some time. Africa is my most favorite travel destination of all the worlds regions and continents, and although hard work the rewards are so great.
I have a friend who runs an eco-lodge in Malawi for the last 10 years and he hasn’t seen any real uptake in people traveling the region over that period, where area’s such as Central America and South East Asia continue to boom in numbers.
I commend you for what you are trying to do here, and I will not get off my behind and write that post.
If you do, there might be a place for you on the new site, when it’s up and running: http://beentoafrica.com
If you do, there might be a place for you on the new site, when it’s up and running: http://beentoafrica.com